AP® English Literature and Composition

2014 Scoring Guidelines

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AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2014 SCORING GUIDELINES

© 2014 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.

Question 1 (George Gascoigne’s “For That He Looked Not upon Her”)

The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a 3. 9–8 These essays offer a persuasive analysis of Gascoigne’s use of devices to convey the speaker’s

complex attitude. These essays offer a range of interpretations; they provide convincing readings of both the complex attitude and Gascoigne’s use of devices such as form, diction, and imagery. They demonstrate consistent and effective control over the elements of composition in language appropriate to the analysis of poetry. Their textual references are apt and specific. Though they may not be error-free, these essays are perceptive in their analysis and demonstrate writing that is clear and sophisticated, and in the case of an essay scored a 9, especially persuasive.

7–6 These essays offer a reasonable analysis of Gascoigne’s use of devices such as form, diction, and

imagery to convey the speaker’s complex attitude. They are less thorough or less precise in their discussion of the attitude and Gascoigne’s use of devices, and their analysis of the relationship between the two is less thorough or convincing. These essays demonstrate an ability to express ideas clearly, making references to the text, although they do not exhibit the same level of effective writing as the 9–8 essays. Essays scored a 7 present better-developed analysis and more consistent command of the elements of effective composition than do essays scored a 6.

5 These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading of Gascoigne’s use of devices

such as form, diction, and imagery to convey the speaker’s complex attitude, but they tend to be superficial in their analysis of the attitude and of the devices. They often rely on paraphrase, which may contain some analysis, implicit or explicit. Their analysis of the speaker’s attitude or of Gascoigne’s use of devices may be vague, formulaic, or minimally supported by references to the text. There may be minor misinterpretations of the poem. These essays demonstrate some control of language, but they may be marred by surface errors. These essays are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as 7–6 essays.

4–3 These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of the poem. The analysis may be partial,

unconvincing, or irrelevant, or it may ignore the complexity of the speaker’s attitude or Gascoigne’s use of devices. Evidence from the poem may be slight or misconstrued, or the essays may rely on paraphrase only. The writing often demonstrates a lack of control over the conventions of composition: inadequate development of ideas, accumulation of errors, or a focus that is unclear, inconsistent, or repetitive. Essays scored a 3 may contain significant misreading, demonstrate inept writing, or both.

2–1 These essays compound the weaknesses of the papers in the 4–3 range. Although some attempt

has been made to respond to the prompt, the assertions are presented with little clarity, organization, or support from the poem. These essays may contain serious errors in grammar and mechanics. They may offer a complete misreading or be unacceptably brief. Essays scored 1 contain little coherent discussion of the poem.

AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2014 SCORING GUIDELINES

© 2014 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.

Question 1 (continued) 0 These essays give a response that is completely off topic or inadequate; there may be some mark or

a drawing or a brief reference to the task. — These essays are entirely blank.

AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2014 SCORING GUIDELINES

© 2014 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.

Question 2 (Edward P. Jones’ The Known World)

The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a 3. 9–8 These essays offer a persuasive analysis of how Jones reveals the character of Moses through

literary elements. The essays make a strong case for their interpretation of how the character is revealed. They may consider literary elements such as point of view, selection of detail, and imagery, and they engage the text through apt and specific references. Although these essays may not be error-free, their perceptive analysis is apparent in writing that is clear and effectively organized. Essays scored a 9 reveal more sophisticated analysis and more effective control of language than do essays scored an 8.

7–6 These essays offer a reasonable analysis of how Jones reveals the character of Moses through

literary elements. The writers provide a sustained, competent reading of the passage, with attention to literary elements such as point of view, selection of detail, and imagery. Although these essays may not be error-free and are less perceptive or less convincing than 9–8 essays, the ideas are presented with clarity and control and the text is referenced for support. Essays scored a 7 present better-developed analysis and more consistent command of the elements of effective composition than do essays scored a 6.

5 These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading of the passage, but they tend

to be superficial or thin in their discussion of how Jones reveals the character of Moses through literary elements. While containing some analysis of the passage, implicit or explicit, the discussion of how literary elements contribute to the revelation of character may be slight, and support from the passage may tend toward summary or paraphrase. While these essays demonstrate adequate control of language, they may be marred by surface errors. These essays are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as 7–6 essays.

4–3 These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of the passage. The analysis may be

partial, unconvincing, or irrelevant; the essay may ignore how Jones reveals the character of Moses or may ignore the use of literary elements. These essays may be characterized by an unfocused or repetitive presentation of ideas, an absence of textual support, or an accumulation of errors. Essays scored a 3 may contain significant misreading, demonstrate inept writing, or both.

2–1 These essays compound the weaknesses of the papers in the 4–3 range. They may persistently

misread the passage or be unacceptably brief. They may contain pervasive errors that interfere with understanding. Although some attempt has been made to respond to the prompt, the ideas are presented with little clarity, organization, or support from the passage. Essays scored a 1 contain little coherent discussion of the passage.

0 These essays give a response that is completely off topic or inadequate; there may be some mark or

a drawing or a brief reference to the task. — These essays are entirely blank.

AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2014 SCORING GUIDELINES

© 2014 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.

Question 3 (Sacrifice)

The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by one point above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a 3.

9–8 These essays offer a well-focused and persuasive analysis of how a particular sacrifice illuminates a

character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole. Using apt and specific textual support, these essays analyze how both the character and the work are shaped by a particular sacrifice. Although these essays may not be error-free, they make a strong case for their interpretation and discuss the literary work with significant insight and understanding. Essays scored a 9 reveal more sophisticated analysis and more effective control of language than do essays scored an 8.

7–6 These essays offer a reasonable analysis of how a particular sacrifice illuminates a character’s

values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole. These essays analyze how both the character and the work are shaped by a particular sacrifice. While these essays demonstrate insight and understanding, their analysis is less thorough, less perceptive, or less specific (or some combination of the three) in supporting detail than that of the 9–8 essays. Essays scored a 7 present better-developed analysis and more consistent command of the elements of effective composition than do essays scored a 6.

5 These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading, but they tend to be superficial

or thinly developed in analysis. They often rely upon plot summary that contains some analysis, implicit or explicit. The essays attempt to discuss how a character’s values are illuminated by a particular sacrifice and how the sacrifice deepens the meaning of the work as a whole. They may demonstrate a rather simplistic understanding of the character’s sacrifice or how that sacrifice impacts the work as a whole. While these essays demonstrate adequate control of language, they may be marred by surface errors. These essays are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as 7–6 essays.

4–3 These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of how a particular sacrifice illuminates a

character’s values or provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole. The analysis may be partial, unsupported, or irrelevant. The essays may reflect an incomplete or oversimplified understanding of how a character’s values are illuminated by a particular sacrifice and how the sacrifice deepens the meaning of the work as a whole. They may rely on plot summary alone. These essays may be characterized by an unfocused or repetitive presentation of ideas, an absence of textual support, or an accumulation of errors; they may also lack control over the elements of college-level composition. Essays scored a 3 may contain significant misreading, demonstrate inept writing, or both.

2–1 Although these essays make some attempt to respond to the prompt, they compound the

weaknesses of the papers in the 4–3 range. Often, they are unacceptably brief or incoherent in presenting ideas. They may be poorly written on several counts and contain distracting errors in grammar and mechanics. The remarks may be presented with little clarity, organization, or supporting evidence. Essays scored a 1 contain little coherent discussion of the text.

AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2014 SCORING GUIDELINES

© 2014 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.

Question 3 (continued) 0 – These essays give a response that is completely off topic or inadequate; there may be some mark or

a drawing or a brief reference to the task. — These essays are entirely blank.